November 15th, 2012Barack ObamaPresident of the United States of America1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW; Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

The Kachin community in the United
States offers our heartfelt congratulations on your re-election and
wishes you every success as you continue leading our great nation for
another four years. We are writing this letter to you as fellow
Americans.

We wish to convey to you our sentiments regarding your impending
visit to our homeland, Burma. This trip has historic implications not
only because it is the first visit by a sitting US President, but also
because it has potential for pressing the government of Burma to enact
further democratic reforms and achieve national reconciliation. In the
light of these, we want to express the following concerns:

Visiting the country at this juncture might provide
legitimacy to a government which has one of the worst human rights
records in the world, especially in respect to our kinsmen, the Kachin,
living in northern Burma.

Premature engagement with a government which remains to
fund the army that currently terrorizing innocent civilians and
Internally Displaced Persons could undermine the United States’ stature
and integrity.

These potential outcomes could further marginalize minorities in Burma and destabilize the country.

Despite
widespread reports of political reform, Kachin civilians continue to
suffer grave human rights abuses under the current quasi-civilian
government backed by the Burma Army. They continue to commit ethnically
motivated war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially our
families and friends, as documented by respected human rights
organizations. These crimes have intensified since the breakdown of the
government’s 17-year ceasefire with the Kachin Independent Organization
in June of last year. Within the course of a year, this ongoing
offensive has displaced over 90,000 Kachin civilians, the majority of
whom are now living in two dozen camps along the Chinese border. These
civilians live with constant fear and uncertainty and in dire need of
the most basic human needs. Nevertheless, the administration of
President Thein Sein continues to block much needed aid by making it
impossible for international organizations to provide assistance to
internally displaced civilians. In addition, innocent Kachin continue to
suffer arbitrary arrests, harassment, interrogation, and detention by
government authorities.

The Kachin have an important historical connection with the United
States. Senator Mitch McConnell expressed in Congressional Record on Oct
12, 2011 that Kachin contributions to the Allied efforts in Burma
during World War II are legendary. Today, the Kachin are engaged in a
different kind of war, a war to secure the right for self-determination
that was guaranteed under the historic Panglong Agreement, the document
which gave birth to the Union of Burma in its present form. In view of
these historical ties, we implore you to give your utmost attention to
the crisis facing the Kachin in your discussions with the current
administration of President Thein Sein.

The United States is a leader in promoting freedom, equality and
democracy around the world. We are bonded by faith that our appeal to
you will cause ripples of hope for others across the globe. Thus, we are
urging you to consider the following requests in your visit to our
homeland:

that you and your administration continue to stand for American values and principles in times of great strife.

that you, our leader, serve as a witness to atrocities committed against our kinsmen in our homeland.

that you use your influence as a world leader to speak out against injustice and unscrupulous terror against innocent civilians.

that
you and your administration foster unity by engaging in dialogue with
all Burmese parties, including armed resistance political organizations.

Furthermore, we ask that you urge the current administration of President Thein Sein to take the following actions:

Provide
assurance of a free flow of domestic and international aid for the
displaced Kachin civilians, especially those living in camps along the
China-Burma border because a solution to the IDP problem is prerequisite
to future talks, whether military or political.

Permit the presence of UN observer teams or intermediary
teams in conflict zones and IDP camps for the purpose of monitoring and
preventing human rights abuses.

Begin a genuine
political dialogue based on Panglong Agreement and find lasting tangible
solutions that will address the six decades of the country’s political
turmoil.

Ratify a new democratic constitution that reflects the
founding principles of the Republic of the Union of Burma, which is
inclusive of representatives from all ethnic stakeholders.

We
sincerely thank you for your attention to these matters and trust that
you will use all the powers vested in you to bring about peace and
reconciliation for all ethnic nationalities in Burma, including the
Kachin.

Dear Kachin Alliance,the purpose of this contact is mainly to request your help in reaching this voice to the State Secretaryof US, the Secretary General of the UN, including Thein Sein, Suu Kyi as possible as you can. Pleaseupdate the words and expression in the context of your Political Communities.

SUMJECT:- THE VOICE OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI IN THE USA.

Dear our Democratic leaders of the present World Community, first of all, we Kachin people sincerelygreet all of you and acknowledge that we are giving our daily attention on the radio messages comingfrom the VOA, RFA and BBC, especially during an official visit of Presedent Thein Sein and DawAung San Suu Kyi at her official speech, her personal interview with the VOA, RFA, the UniversityStudents and Myanmar Family members of the USA.1. Leave it at whatever are being uncommon and let us go together at whatever are beingcommon in our interest opinions and aims.We are in doubt whether this political dictum should have been expressed or not by democraticleaders like Suu Kyi. When listening to this voice of Suu Kyi we feel ourselves that the ethnicminorities in Burma have no choice at all in this road map to democracy. This means that as weunderstand the voice, Suu Kyi is strengthening the military power of Thein Sein government in asense that this political dictum is forcing all ethnic minorities to submit themselves to the policy ofThein Sein government which in fact is not practicing a democratic rule. Suu Kyi expresses thispolitical dictum to help us go together as majority go while the majority can not go with Thein Seingovernment because it is not a democracy.2.Suu Kyi is inviting world wide international companies to invest their projects inBurma as Burma is becoming a democratic community; she is appealing the world leaders towithdraw economic sanction and to grant a loan of money from the World Bank. All these requestsare possible to be done in democratic society so long as Suu Kyi is diligently requesting for these inher auspices. But we need to look back the situation of President Chun Doo Wan of S. Korea andPresident Marcos of Philippines. They have been exercising the role of democracy actively at theexpense of personal interest by using political alliance between the western leaders and the nationalleaders themselves while there are diversities of socio-political and religious conflicts inside thecountry. We are keeping our process with our watchful eyes towards to see what would happen in animmediate future.

From Omaha:Take Hwy 275 north to Fremont, then Hwy 30 west to North Bend.
At North Bend, take Hwy 79 south two miles to Morse Bluff.
At Morse Bluff, take the county road (Linwood Road/Lin Road) west about 6 miles to Road 31. Camp Merrill is on your left.

From Grand Island:Take Hwy 30 east to Schuyler.
At Schuyler, drive south on

Hwy 15 approximately two miles to Spur 12A.

At Spur 12A, drive east to Linwood. Watch for signs in Linwood. At Linwood, follow the county road three miles to Camp Merrill on your right.

From Lincoln:Take Hwy 34 north to Hwy 79.
Continue on Hwy 79 north to Morse Bluff.
At Morse Bluff, take the county road (Lin Rd/Linwood Road) west about 6 miles to Camp Merrill.

From Norfolk:Take Hwy 275 east to Pilger, then Hwy 15 south to Schuyler.
At Schuyler, continue south on Hwy 15 approximately two miles to Spur 12A.
At Spur 12A, drive east to Linwood.
At Linwood, follow the county road three miles to Camp Merrill.

LAIZA, Myanmar (AP) — They're in their 80s and 90s, and it all happened a very long time ago and far away, but American World War II veterans are still repaying "debts" to their comrades-in-arms in northern Myanmar — because without them they might never have returned home.

Instead of retelling war stories as old soldiers are prone to do, these survivors of some of the war's harshest campaigns have set up education, health and other programs in this remote region to help the Kachin, an ethnic group that fought alongside them against the Japanese.

The brotherly bonds, both sides say, have not been severed despite the passing of 70 years, the isolationist policies of Myanmar and a long-running conflict between the autonomy-seeking Kachin and the military-backed government.

"We were all for one and one for all," remembers American Sam Spector of his days as an 18-year-old combat radio operator.

Among the ravishing mountains and valleys, the Kachin remember the Americans in a legendary light, as part of their folklore.

It was an improbable but remarkable partnership. The Americans came from the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor of the CIA. Young and inexperienced, most had only seen jungles in the movies. Some of the Kachin, then a largely illiterate people, had never seen a wheel. The Kachin tutored the newcomers in jungle survival and in turn were taught modern warfare.

They formed a guerrilla force, the Kachin Rangers, which numbered 10,800 at its peak and killed 5,400 Japanese while losing only 202 of their own — one of the highest kill-loss ratios in U.S. military history. They demolished Japanese bridges and trains, provided intelligence and rescued 425 downed airmen.

Experts at ambush, the Kachin terrorized the enemy with stealth and ferocity. When one general questioned the high body counts, a Kachin fighter dropped a bundle on his desk and said, "Count the ears and divide by two."

Peter Lutken, a battalion commander who fought with the Kachin behind Japanese lines, learned their language and culture around campfires.

"They loved him and he probably would not be alive today without their friendship — neither would most other American and British soldiers in that part of the war," said his son, Peter Lutken III.

The elder Lutken, a retired businessman who lives in Dallas, was among a group of veterans who made a return trip to Myanmar in 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

"When the war ended, we walked off and left them with a few medals, a few presents and nothing else," he said before that trip. "It wasn't right."
He spoke of "a debt of honor" owed by his unit, Detachment 101 of the Office of Strategic Services.

An initial effort right after the war failed, and subsequent ones were stalled by Myanmar's government, which was trying to suppress the Kachin insurgency and also growing more hostile to the United States.

In 1996 the veterans began Project Old Soldier, training impoverished villagers to plant corn, buckwheat and other crops instead of opium, sending nurses to visit ailing Kachin veterans and aiding orphans.

Eight years later they started 101 Schools, which teaches mathematics and English to classes of up to 500 students in open-sided sheds, barns and church outbuildings in the largely Christian community.

The veterans have not been to Kachin state since the 1990s but continue to funnel in funds from the United States.

Among the few foreign aid groups allowed to operate in northern Myanmar, the two organizations have funded the translation and printing of health care manuals and hope to assist some of the more than 75,000 refugees from fighting which erupted again last year.

The Kachin first took up arms against the regime in 1961 and Kachin state remains a patchwork of areas, some controlled by the government and others by the rebel Kachin Independence Organization.

Dan Tarter, a retired U.S. Army colonel who administers 101 Schools, says that after some initial wariness the government has not interfered in the veterans' efforts, even inviting them to expand the projects. He ascribes this to the low profile and nonpolitical, nonreligious nature of the aid.

"We operate like a program named for 0SS 101 should operate — quietly," he says.
The Kachin insurgents welcome the assistance.

"American veterans and their children are grateful to us. We are also grateful to them, because they have tried to help the children of the Kachin veterans," says La Nan, a spokesman at rebel headquarters in Laiza.

But he regretted that "this spirit only applies to the old generation of Americans" while the United States appears to have forgotten the once strong ties at a time when the Kachin are embroiled in another conflict.

The U.S. is pressuring Myanmar to resolve its ethnic wars, but the Kachin hope for even greater diplomatic support and humanitarian aid. Some of the U.S. veterans agree, recalling the friendships and mutual trust.
"I was accepted fully by the Kachins and I respected their life, their ethics, their innocence, which was not much different from mine," says Spector, a delivery boy in New York City with only limited schooling before he enlisted.

After the war he moved to Rome, Georgia, and became a lawyer, businessman and university professor.

He was among those who returned in 1995. During an emotional reunion Lutken spoke to a group of young Kachin women in their language, mentioning the name by which he was known during the war: Ka'Ang Zau Lai, or "He who went through it from beginning to end."

"The girls all knew it. Pete had become a part of the living history of the Kachin people. The girls started to cry at meeting this old warrior and hero of the Kachin," says Barry Broman, a retired U.S. diplomat who hosted a party for the group in Yangon, then the capital of Myanmar.

The wartime exploits of the Americans and Kachin, some of whom went on to join the rebels, have not been celebrated by Myanmar. The government is dominated by the majority ethnic group, the Burmans, many of whom initially sided with the Japanese.

"Burmese historians only write one or two lines about the contribution of the hill people in the liberation from Japan. That's all. This is a great tragedy," says Rev. Maran Ja Gun, a Christian pastor, historian and adviser to the Kachin Independence Organization.

There is a monument — an American and Kachin soldier standing side-by-side, garlanded weekly with fresh flowers — but it's on the grounds of the U.S. Embassy in Yangon. Authorities didn't give permission for one in Myitkyina, the Kachin state capital, although the Japanese were allowed to erect a war memorial.

For the American veterans, what matters are the schools and other aid projects, Tarter says: "These are their monuments."